Let's Hear It For New York
by PaigePussgurka
Summary: Nico would have been lying if he said his heart hadn't leaped when Percy offered to show him around New York City. / Percico in NYC
1. Now You're In New York

**A/N:** ok so i have a huge city-boner for new york so i figured why not put it to use and write some nyc-based percico. will probably write more parts/chapters soon, just gotta do some planning so enjoy what i have so far! owo 

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Nico would have been lying if he said his heart hadn't leaped when Percy offered to show him around New York City.

And _no_, it wasn't because the thought of spending the day alone with Percy put butterflies in his stomach…well at least not entirely. There was more to it than that. The son of Hades had always been intrigued by "The Big Apple", a city that seemed to be vibrating out of its seams with all sorts of life. Nico loved cities, because for a while he could drown himself in the abundance of life. The dead gave off such a nauseating aura, one that he had long since gotten used to. But even though it was common for him to be around the dead, being around the living was a much better alternative.

And in cities, nobody cared who you were. In small groups of people (especially small groups of half-bloods), Nico was a glaringly obvious outcast, the odd one out, the weirdo. But in a city, he blended. Cities were full of outcasts and weirdos, and city-folk had adapted to treat everyone with indifference. In New York, this adaptation was a trait that every citizen had. Percy had once said that even the weirdest people could find a place there, "the great American mixing pot" he'd called it. Maybe even Nico could blend into a place like that.

Despite Camp Half-Blood's proximity to the city, Nico had never actually been into the metro area. The cities he usually found himself in were near the Underworld; cities like Los Angeles and, _ugh_, Hollywood. Californians seemed to have grasped the "indifference to weirdness" idea, but not in the same way as New Yorkers. The people of Hollywood were primarily tourists who saw Nico as an unsightly mark on the Walk of Fame and natives who seemed to think his darkness was a threat to the Sunshine State. Nico could ramble for hours about how much he hated the sorry excuses for cities on the "Golden Coast", but that was neither here nor there. New York; now that was a city. And when Percy offered to be his personal tour guide, he was quick to agree to a tour the following afternoon.

"So…where are you taking me?" Nico relished in the way the great Hero of Olympus squeaked at the sudden company in Percy's very blue bedroom. Nico also relishes in the fact that Percy is fully clothed, because while that is a welcome sight, it might make things a bit awkward.

"Gods, give a guy a little warning…how did you get in here?"

"Shadow travel, Perce. Now, I reiterate, where are you taking me?" The mischievous, excited smile that spread over Percy's face quickly shattered Nico's apathetic facade and had him struggling to force his stomach butterflies back into their cocoons.

"You'll see," Percy said conspiratorially. Before any other questions could leave Nico's mouth, the older demigod grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the very blue room and toward the front door. Sally poked her head out of the kitchen at the sudden commotion and Nico offered her an awkward wave as Percy continues pulling him. "We'll be back later Mom, gonna get dinner downtown!" being the only explanation Percy gave his mother before they're on their way.

"Isn't Subway a restaurant?" Judging by rolling green eyes, Percy found it a dumb question (oh how the tables of intelligence have turned). He navigated through the streets as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Nico, on the other hand, had already lost track of where they were and was grateful that Percy was wearing such an obnoxious blue shirt; at least he'd be easy to find.

"I didn't mean _that_ kind of subway," Percy said with a soft chuckle, grabbing Nico's hand again when he almost lost the younger boy in a sudden rush of pedestrians. Luckily, Percy was too busy weaving through people to notice the way Nico's face turned red. The shorter demigod was pulled down a set of stairs, through a turnstile, down more stairs, and into a train car before Percy finally came to a stop. "_This_ is the subway I was talking about." Nico marvelled briefly at all the people gathered in one place, people all so vastly different and from so many different places in life that were all in the same space. He was knocked out of his thought pattern as Percy let go of his hand, only to wrap it tightly around Nico's waist as the train shot forward a lot faster than Nico had been expecting. Blood began to fill the usually pale face of the Italian at their close proximity (that nobody in the train even seemed to bat an eyelash at). He forewent saying the first thing that came to mind –– which would have been something along the lines of "I'm in love with you, sorry" –– and instead settled for the second:

"And here I was, planning my sandwich for _nothing_."

"You'll be fine. Subway has nothin' on legit street food," Percy answered as the train came to a squealing halt. The moment the doors opened, he ushered Nico out of the train then out of the subway before he could be trampled by the rush hour masses escaping Fifth Avenue. Nico realized he couldn't find his voice as he took in his surroundings. The mid-September sun still burned above the skyscrapers, even at 5:30. The skyscrapers, though. They were taller and more clustered than anything he'd seen in L.A. or even what he remembered of Washington DC. Percy pulled him aside and to a stop in front a sunken plaza before speaking.

"This is Rockefeller Plaza. That gold statue over there is Prometheus and that big bronze one is Atlas. It's kinda crazy that I never notice all the Greek stuff around, but I guess…" he trailed off when he noticed that Nico's head was still tilted up to see the skyscrapers. With a soft smile, he took the younger demigod's hand, "Neeks?"

"Hm?" the shorter boy slowly turned back toward Percy, trying to ignore the endless hum of living souls around him. He was suddenly acutely aware of the hum of Percy's soul in particular as the son of Poseidon reached a hand up to caress the side of Nico's face.

"Welcome to New York."

With a kiss that stole the breath right out of Nico's lungs, the Italian decided that New York City was a damn good place; especially if Percy was in it.


	2. These Lights Will Inspire You

**A/N:** a continuation for percico day. might continue with more little pieces in the story idk will label it as in progress until i make a decision on that. anyway, enjoy! uvu

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Once the air had been returned to his lungs, Nico made a serious face and asked, "What was that for?" Percy shrugged, a goofy smirk plastered on his face and his tanned cheeks tinged pink. The son of Hades rolled his eyes, struggling to force a mask of indifference over his blush as Percy intertwined their fingers. "Where are you dragging me off to now?"

"Would you just trust me for ten seconds?"

"After the Subway mix-up I don't think I can ever trust you again."

"And here I thought kissing you would make you forget about that."

"Kiss? You mean shoving your tongue down my throat?"

"Shut up, you liked it," Percy said with a laugh, guiding rather than pulling Nico down 49th Street. The taller demigod didn't seemed fazed by the honking and yelling cabbies as they jaywalked between two cabs on 6th Avenue.

"_Di immortales_, do you even care about getting hit by a car!?" Nico hissed when they finally made it to the sidewalk.

"New Yorkers stop for no one, Neeks," the taller boy said with a laugh. A few blocks later, Percy pulled Nico out of the flow of pedestrians next to the biggest, most lit golden arches the younger boy had ever seen. "This is Times Square. I know you're not really into the tourist-y stuff, but I mainly wanted to show you this McDonalds. I knew for sure you're into that."

"Fo' sho', how sweet of you," Nico said, face turning bright red when Percy busted out laughing.

"P...Please never say 'fo sho' again," the older demigod said between laughs.

"You always laugh at me when I use the slang I grew up with so I'm trying to...update. Ja feel?" The stiff awkwardness in Nico's voice only made Percy laugh all the harder.

"Oh god, please stop!"

By the time Percy stopped laughing completely, they were back on the subway. The taller boy once again had Nico by the waist as he leaned against a rail. Some punk behind them coughed the word "faggots" into his hand then laughed with his buddies. The glare Nico subsequently leveled on said punk held all the murderous, manic hellfire in them that Hades himself was known to exude. That quickly shut up the group of punks and when Nico turned back to Percy, the taller had a proud grin on his face.

"What? What's that face for?"

"You're so mean and angry...you're becoming a New Yorker already, I'm so proud."

"Shut up!"

As they left the subway, Percy hinted that he had a big surprise. Nico felt a little worried but let Percy lead him down streets whose names he didn't recognize. "Ok, now you have to close your eyes," the taller boy said excitedly.

"Percy––"

"Close 'em!" Nico rolled his eyes before shutting them, focusing on keeping his foot as his guide led him a little further. "Open!"

"Oh my god," was all the son of Hades could say as he read the illuminated awning: _Da Nico Ristorante_.

"Isn't this great? A little Italian named Nico in Little Italy at Da Nico."

"You're such a dork," Nico said with a snort. The grumble that ripped out of the shorter boy's stomach cut through the conversation and Percy chuckled.

"Let's get something to eat."

Percy had been right. Nothing could compare to New York street food. They had found a little cart that sold meatball subs then walked to a nearby park (something "Roosevelt"?) to eat on a bench. When Nico took a bite, the flavor of the marinara sparked a memory he hadn't known he had.

"This reminds me of my mom's marinara," he said out of nowhere.

"What?" Percy asked, quickly wiped his arm across his mouth to remove excess sauce.

"She...she used to spend all day making this...old family recipe of marinara sauce whenever we could get tomatoes. I...put it on everything, even hamburgers," Nico's face fell slightly. Of all the things to remember, why marinara sauce?

"That's gross."

"Shut up, I've seen you put maple syrup on eggs. That is dis––" Nico was cut off suddenly by Percy's lips. He melted into it for a moment before pulling back sharply, "Did you get a _pound of garlic_ on that thing?"

"Maybe," the son of Poseidon chuckled then finished off his sandwich, "It's getting dark and there's one last place I wanna take you."

"And let me guess, you're not going to tell me where?"

"Of course not! That'll ruin the surprise!"

"More surprises, huh?"

"Yeah it's an Italian restaurant called Cute and Angry, makes me think of you."

"How sweet, you must be Prince Charming. Or do you prefer being called The Little Mermaid?"

"Mer_man_! You're hurting my street cred, Nico."

"Sorry, shawty."

"Stop saying shawty!"

"Now you're hurting _my _street cred."

The duo once again headed down into a subway station, and Nico was starting to really appreciate the subway by the third time around. It didn't matter who you were, how much money you made, where you lived, or how you lived; people of all walks of life rode the trains. And, aside from the homophobic punks from earlier, subway-folk upheld the sort of unwritten law of Big City Indifference. So when Percy gripped his waist and pulled them flush against each other, there were no snide comments or odd looks. And if Nico rested his head on his companion's shoulder, nobody minded, not even Percy himself.

Brooklyn Heights, that's what Percy had called it. The buildings weren't quite as tall and were more populated with apartments than offices, parents hurried their children along the sidewalk as the sunlight began to dwindle. But even though the sounds of sirens echoed between the brownstones it felt much calmer than Manhattan had.

Percy led them through block after block and Nico complained that his feet were killing him. This stopped the son of Poseidon in his tracks and he turned to Nico, "Close your eyes again."

"Wh––"

"Just do it, please," Percy had the best wounded puppy dog eyes Nico had ever seen, so the younger boy gave up and closed his eyes. His heart leapt into his throat when he was suddenly off the sidewalk and in a pair of strong arms instead. He tried to slow his breathing and heart rate as he clutched tightly to Percy's shoulders. An indeterminable amount of time passed before Nico was finally on his own feet again. "Open 'em," was whispered in his ear and he obeyed, gaping the moment he did.

There, just across the water, was the Lower Manhattan skyline. Lights of all colors reflected off the East River, the brightest of them being the top of the Empire State Building. To the right, the swooping wires of the Brooklyn Bridge were lit up from one end to the other. Far to the left, the Statue of Liberty was illuminated on Liberty Island and Nico wondered if any of his family members had seen it from Ellis Island, had any of them been drawn to the city like he was? Percy's voice brought him out of his reverie, during which he hadn't noticed that the taller demigod had been watching him the entire time.

"Y'know, when I told you I'd take you to see the city, I spent all this time trying to figure out what to take you to see. I knew you didn't care about the usual tourist stuff, but I didn't know how to show you New York. Annabeth liked to look at buildings and architecture, but you don't care about stuff like that. What could possibly impress you? What would you even _want_ to see?"

Nico interrupted, feeling anger start to rise in his stomach, "I get it, I'm difficult. You didn't––"

"No, it's not that," Percy stopped him, "It's just that...you're this ridiculously mature kid, way more mature than me even though I have 4 years on you, and I didn't think you'd give a shit about Times Square or anything like that. So...I just took you to all the places that remind me of you, because when I'm here you're all I think about anyway." Nico thought about that for a moment. The sculpture of Atlas, the Times Square McDonalds, the Italian restaurant named _Da Nico_, meatball sandwiches; that all made sense when he considered it. He could see how Percy related those things to him, but the skyline view made no sense.

"But...why here? How does something like..." he gestured to the amazing view set out before them, "Like _this_ remind you of _me_?"

"Because it's beautiful," the older demigod answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then after a beat of silence, wherein Nico's heart was hammering in his ears, Percy added, "But not as beautiful as you."

"That was pretty cheesy, even for you."

"Shut up! I'm trying to be honest," tanned skin flushed pink before Percy continued, "It's also supposed to be a really romantic place where everyone goes for first dates and stuff so..."

"This is...this is a _date_?"

"You couldn't tell by the way I, quote, 'stuck my tongue down your throat'?"

"I thought you were just being friendly. Give a guy a little warning next time, Perce. Now shut up," Nico said, a smirk making it's way onto his face before he leaned up on the tips of his toes to press his lips to Percy's.

Yeah, Nico definitely loved Perc––

_Ahem_. New York. He definitely loved _New York._


End file.
